ABSTRACT

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts presents in the subsequent chapters. This part deals with a situation in the U.S.S.R., provides an international flavor for water use, both surface and groundwater, and discusses a good perspective on methods that are used there to prevent land abuse. It shows another dimension of subsidence—that of man-induced hazards. The part presents a one-sided persuasive thesis that clear-cutting does cause increased erosion and nutrient depletion of soils. Man-induced land subsidence also occurs in urban areas, such as Venice and Mexico City, and can be caused by a variety of ways resulting from utilization of earth resources. Surface mining is one of the most obvious destroyers of the landscape because it is a calculated and deliberate operation by man to consciously destroy surface characteristics of the earth. Surface mining operations can be grouped into five kinds: open-pit mining, strip mining, auger mining, dredging, and hydraulic mining.